Meanwhile, Hartford's suburban office markets again bore signs of slowing demand for space, CBRE data showed. In the west market, for example, which includes Farmington and West Hartford, 2018 absorption of 202,000 square feet was less than half that of 2017, pushing that quadrant's vacancy to 18.1 percent last year from 16.7 percent in 2017.

The east, south and north quadrants either experienced slower leasing or minimal activity, CBRE said.

"2019 looks to be largely the same as 2018," CBRE said in its suburban Hartford office market forecast, "with both leasing activity and rental rates remaining flat. There is a significant amount of planned giveback space by corporate users that will take the market some time to absorb.''

As in recent years, Greater Hartford's industrial-space market continues to hold promise for landlords and tenants. According to CBRE, tenants absorbed 1.2 million square feet of industrial manufacturing-distribution space vs. 758,000 square feet in 2017, slashing overall industrial vacancy last year to 7.2 percent from 8.8 percent